Hi
I was wondering if anyone could help me.
When i charge my 1989 par car for 12 hours, i only get like an hour or 2 at most out of the charge. Is that normal? I believe the charger is pretty old, it maybe the orignal not sure. When its charging it hums and the needle goes to between half way and 3/4. I think my batteries are around 4 years old, so i think that may be the problem. Any help is appreciated.

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Hi
I was wondering if anyone could help me.
When i charge my 1989 par car for 12 hours, i only get like an hour or 2 at most out of the charge. Is that normal? I believe the charger is pretty old, it maybe the orignal not sure. When its charging it hums and the needle goes to between half way and 3/4. I think my batteries are around 4 years old, so i think that may be the problem. Any help is appreciated.

Is yours a resistor or solid state controlled cart? Did this problem just start, or has it been going on for awhile? Can you tell us what voltage your battery pack has when it has finished charging.
I'll make a guess without more information, that you have a weak battery in your pack. If you would, post both an open circuit voltage and a running voltage ( load ) of the battery pack after the speed drops off. Once this is determined do a test on each individual battery in the same way. At this point, I don't think your charger is at fault.

Thank you for the reply and the info. I will try to get the info that you requested. Not sure what you mean by resistor or solid state though. I will try to get the voltage readings and post here soon. I have only had the cart for about a year, and it used to have a little longer ride time than it does now, which is kind of what lead me to believe i may need new batteries

A resistor cart has coils of heavy wire that the cables connect to. They are inefficient as they use much more battery energy to run, as most of the energy is wasted as heat.
The controller cart has a small box that the cables connect to, and is much more efficient in that the motor is only supplied the amount of power it needs to run.
The batteries are the heart of an electric cart. If they are not in good condition the power and the range will suffer. Usually a decrease in range is a battery malfunction. There are other reasons too, but they usually reveal themselves to the operator. I would do the tests on the batteries and then go to other tests as needed. It is most important to start with the batteries and determine if they are serviceable or not! You really should have a DMM ( digital multimeter ) and a hydrometer ( for specific gravity of the electrolyte ) to do testing on an electrical cart. Both these items are inexpensive and obtainable at any hardware or automotive parts store. I'll post a link to " scottyb's " site ( he is one of our sponsors ) and read everything he has on his menu with the word " battery " in it! You will get a much better understanding of cart batteries and their functions. http://www.cartsunlimited.net/

Did you let the charger run until it shut off by itself? If you didn't, go ahead and let it charge again. It may run 16hrs or so. Those are very low readings. What does the ammeter on the charger indicate while it's on? We'll get this figured out!

Yea the charger ran until it shut off. I set it for the 12 hour mark, which is the longest the charger will go for. I will turn it on again just to make sure they are fully charged.

Check your water levels and make sure water covers over the plates. Also make sure the batteries don't get hot. Warm is Ok. It sounds like the cart sat for awhile without charging. After you charge it this time, ride it a little bit and charge it again. You should see the voltages come up each time!